Bruins Face a Husky Challenge at Seattle

It looks like a gloomy day for UCLA today, and that’s only the weather.

Imagine how dismal the Bruins are going to feel if they can’t shake the overcast of a week-old loss to Stanford and then get washed away by the Washington Huskies this afternoon.

“So we’re not going to the Rose Bowl--well, that’s bad enough,” Bruin linebacker Ken Norton said. “What would be worse is to lose again. We’ve still got some games to play.”

In the game the Bruins play today, not just attitude but also weather may be a factor. The temperature is not expected to go higher than the upper 40s and there is rain, maybe a lot of it, in the forecast.

The Bruins may also discover if there is a bowl game in their forecast.

UCLA Coach Terry Donahue said it seems to be a matter of direction.

“We can’t get caught up in a situation where we are down,” he said.

“There is a tremendous difference between disappointment and wallowing in self-pity.

“Lots of teams get knocked out of the Rose Bowl race, since only one team ever goes anyway,” said Donahue, who then delivered a double-barreled cliche:

“You can’t cry over spilt milk,” he said. “Life goes on.”

And so it continues for the Bruins, who have no time at all to feel sorry for themselves about having their Rose Bowl petals plucked, not with Washington waiting.

The Huskies, favored by three points, have bowl ideas of their own, and only UCLA and Washington State remain.

Washington is 7-2 overall (4-2 in the Pacific 10) and is still getting signals from several New Year’s Day bowls, including the Florida Citrus Bowl.

Last weekend, while the Bruins were disappearing from the Rose Bowl race by losing to Stanford, 28-23, the Huskies defeated Oregon State, 28-12, for Coach Don James’ 100th victory at Washington.

The Huskies are formidable, all right, especially behind the strong right arm of quarterback Chris Chandler, whose efficiency rating ranks third among Pac-10 quarterbacks.

Chandler has completed 58% of his passes for 1,597 yards and 16 touchdowns, which is the high in the conference.

“He’s such a good athlete,” Donahue said of Chandler. “He plays with so much confidence. He can drop straight back, play-action, scramble, roll out. He can hurt you by running and he can hurt you by throwing.”

It may not take much to further injure the Bruins, who are already hurt enough. The latest to go is starting free safety James Washington, who won’t play because of a virus.

Because both backup right cornerback Randy Beverly and backup left cornerback Marcus Turner are questionable because of injuries, Donahue may be left with only five healthy, experienced players in the secondary.

Alan Dial moves up to replace Washington, joining Chuckie Miller and Darryl Henley at the corners and Craig Rutledge at strong safety. That means Dennis Price is the only experienced backup.

On offense, quarterback Matt Stevens will have just three experienced running backs behind him. Tailback Eric Ball and fullback Mel Farr Jr. won’t play because of injuries. That should mean more playing time for James Primus, who got only one carry against Stanford. Marcus Turner starts at fullback for Farr.

A positive sign is that tailback Gaston Green is still healthy and has a string of four consecutive 100-yard games. His average of 101.9 yards a game is second-best in the Pac-10, trailing only David Adams of Arizona, who is averaging 115.0.

But no matter who lines up on offense for UCLA, each of the Bruins is going to have a difficult time. The Huskies are giving up an average of only 83.6 yards rushing a game, so perhaps UCLA will turn more to Stevens and the passing game.

Washington leads the Pac-10 in scoring with an average of 34.6 points a game, which should give the Bruin defense something to think about.

Actually, all of the Bruins surely have a lot on their minds right now, Donahue said. It’s not really difficult stuff, either.

Either the Bruins win and keep their hopes for a “nice” bowl game alive, or they drop to 6-4 and see what other bowl offers they come up with. Donahue said, however, that the chance for a big bowl game is not really a motivation for beating Washington.

“I don’t think you necessarily need a carrot dangled in front of your face,” he said.

“It’ll all come out in the wash.”

It’ll all come out in Washington.

Bruin Notes The UCLA-Washington series is tied, 23-23-1. Last year, the Bruins opened their Pac-10 season at Husky Stadium and lost, 21-14. Either UCLA or Washington has played in 7 of the last 11 Rose Bowls. . . . Gaston Green’s 142 yards against Stanford increased his career total to 2,043 yards and moved him into seventh place on the UCLA career list, ahead of the legendary Kenny Washington, who played in 1937-39. . . . Strong safety Craig Rutledge, who had 12 tackles last week, leads Bruin defenders with 75. He also has four interceptions. . . . Washington kicker Jeff Jaeger has made 13 of 15 field goal attempts this season, the same as UCLA’s David Franey. But Jaeger’s 79 regular-season field goals are only three short of the NCAA career record set by UCLA’s John Lee last season.